"Cutting Coal"

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Good point, <G>!  It is true - the R1 4-8-4s had the only large tenders on 
the ACL system.

Ed King
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 11:58 PM
Subject: Re: "Cutting Coal"



> Bill;  is that because those little locos only had little tenders ?  <G>

>

>

>> In mainline service on the ACL we did not have to  "cut coal."   At the 

>> risk

>> of bringing down the wrath of  the N&W crowd again,  the ACL  was one up

>> on the N&W in this department.   All P-5-a and P-5-b  Pacifuc locomotives

>> in the 1500, 1600, and  1700 class,. which represented about  90%  of the

>> steam motuve power used in freight and passenger service on the mainline,

>> and the Wilmington and Norfolk Districts came from Alco  Locomotive

>> Works equipped with coal pushers.  This was in effect a steam cylinder

>> mounted at about 45 degrees behind the coal bunker which, when activated

>> by steam pressure shoved the whole rear wall of the coal bunker forward

>> thus moving the entire  volumn of coal  toward the open  stoker trough

>> on the floor of the tender.   As a rule, coal pushers were not used very

>> much in passenger service as the vibration set up by high speeds would

>> shake the coal down continually while the train was  at track speed.

>> Bill Sellers.

>>

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